Pale brindled beauty.

This first moth of the season has the most beautiful ethereal name. It is redolent of improbable cloistered maidens pining away under willow trees.

As the very first moth of the season I had to be sure it wasn’t a belted beauty ( very rare!) or a straight brindled beauty, which is hairier and appears a few weeks later.

Despite its very feminine name, this photo is most definitely a male.

There were two moths in the trap and although they showed some variation, they were both male pale brindled beauties. The reason I can be so confident is that the female is completely wingless and is to be found on tree trunks at this time of year, waiting for the winged male to visit .

There are so many moths to remember again after the dull winter months with none to see at all, that the brain has to be kick started again.

In order to keep my mother brain ticking during the winter I have made a list of over 250 species that I have confidently identified in the garden. I have put them in the order of their seasonal appearance with their Latin names. Unfortunately I don’t have the IT brain needed to up load this list ( currently in excel) onto my blog! When I have worked it out, I’ll share it with you (don’t hold your breath!)